While the Mids shut out Delaware Valley, 49-0, earlier this season, Tuesday night's victory marked their first shutout over a Div. I program since scoring a 42-0 victory against Rutgers on Dec. 1, 2006.
Navy's shutout was even more impressive when considering four starters were on the sideline. Freshman 125-pound Aslan Kilic (Marietta, Ga.), 20th-ranked 141-pound Nicholas Gil (Jr / Crystal Lake, Ill.), eighth-ranked 174-pound Jadaen Bernstein (Sr / Glen Gardner, N.J.) and heavyweight Austin Faunce (Sr / Lake Oswego, Ore.) were onlookers Tuesday, cheering their teammates to victory.
“Tonight we where fortunate to have the ‘Next Man Up' mentality work in our favor,†said fourth-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. “The team is focused on the right things and the focus is permeating from the starters and senior leadership throughout every wrestler on our roster.
Making his first dual appearance since the opener against Delaware Valley, rookie Logan Treaster (Newton, Kan.) used a third-period escape and takedown at the buzzer to earn a 6-3 victory over redshirt senior Ibrahim Bunduka at 125 pounds.
“Logan's match was a challenging one that most people outside the circle of the Navy wrestling family may have felt was in favor of the Mason athlete. Logan stepped up and gave a true Navy wrestling effort in his performance and that's really what changed that match. It was the effort he put forth the entire seven minutes with his focus on scoring the next point.â€
Freshman 133-pound Cody Trybus (Elkton, Md.) was the first of four Navy wrestlers to pin their foes on the night. Trybus built a 14-0 advantage in his match against second-year Trevor Mello before pinning him at the 4:10 mark.
Starting their third straight match with a freshman, Navy sent out 141-pound Jonathan Gabriel (Bedford, Pa.) in place of Gil to battle George Mason's Jose Tapia, also a freshman. Gabriel fell behind in the first period, 4-1, but rallied back in the second with an escape, followed by a takedown with under 20 seconds to go to level the match at four apiece. Tapia selected the neutral position in hopes of getting a takedown, however, Gabriel turn the tables and scored the match-winning two-point nearfall with 52 seconds left. Tapia had built up nearly two minutes of riding time in the first two periods, but it would not be enough as Gabriel earned the 6-5 win.
“Gabriel was another new face in our lineup who showed composure throughout the match and again his Expect To Win attitude pulled him out of a small hole he was in early in the bout,†said Sharratt.
Senior team captain Corey Wilding (Pittsburgh, Pa.) got off to a slow start in his match at 149 pounds against redshirt junior Tejon Anthony, but remained calm in whittling down Anthony's lead. Wilding took his first lead in the match in the second period with an escape and a takedown. However, an escape at the end of the period by Anthony followed by a takedown to open the third saw the match knotted up at seven all. Wilding wiggled out of Anthony's grasp quickly and his minute-plus in riding time gave him a 9-7 decision and a 7-1 mark in dual action this season.
Earning his 100th career victory, Davis turned aside GMU freshman Bryce Reddington in just over a minute and a half, posting his 20th career victory by way of fall. The senior owns a 100-50 career mark and stands 15th on the Mids' career wins list. He is the second Navy wrestler this season to earn his 100th win, joining Bernstein who posted his 100th win at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December.
“Davis securing his 100th win is a great achievement when you consider he was battling Jared Prince and Nicholas Gil one year ago to find a spot in our lineup,†pointed out Sharratt. “I could not be happier for someone who brings IT every day.â€
Ranked 20th at 165 pounds, Drew Daniels (Overland Park, Kan.) put together four takedowns en route to a 10-1 major decision over Garrett Griffith. It marked only the second match this season by Daniels that was not a decision. He also earned a major decision (13-1) over Merchant Marine's Christian Willoughby in the opening round of the All-Academy Championship two weeks ago.
Sophomore 174-pound AJ Alford (Beech Island, S.C.) had his match against GMU's Levko Higgins well in hand (10-3 lead) before pinning him at the 4:19 mark. Alford is now 5-2 this season in dual meets.
Extending his winning streak to 10 straight matches, 18th-ranked Michael Coleman (Sr / Hudson, Ohio) barely broke a sweat in his victory over 184-pound Austin Harrison, pinning the redshirt junior in just 32 seconds. Coleman has an amazing 21-0 career record in matches ending in falls. He needs two more pins to be ranked among the Mids' all-time top 15.
Late in the third period, it looked as though 197-pound Steban Cervantes (Sr / oway, Calif.) would surrender a decision to GMU redshirt freshman Eli Spencer. Cervantes, who has been battling the flu since last week, made an amazing comeback and scored a takedown, followed by a four-point nearfall in the final 30 seconds to defeat Spencer, 9-7.
Wrestling in the final match of the night, heavyweight Andrew Piehl (So / Rogers, Minn.) put together a trio of takedowns and an escape to earn what could be considered an upset over redshirt junior Matthew Voss. Voss came into the match with a solid 18-9 record, including an 8-4 mark in dual competition.
“Piehl wrestled one of his best matches since coming out of high school as a highly-decorated prep athlete,†said Sharratt. “His opponent has had a great deal of success, but Andrew kept strong positions and chose several good windows of opportunity to attack and finish soundly for a guy who weighs 270 pounds. It's not often you see a wrestler that big level changing penetrating and lifting his opponent to finish.â€
The Mids will wrestle their final dual of the season on Friday, Feb. 16 when they play host to Army in the annual Star Match. Action is set for 7:30 pm at Alumni Hall where the evening will kick off by recognizing Navy's senior wrestlers and support staff.
“The attitude is great, the energy is high and the focus is singular at this point of the regular season,†added Sharratt. “I am very excited for what this team has in front of it. The Star Meet at home is one of the greatest college rivalries in the country and hosting it with 300+ alumni and thousands of
Midshipmen wrestling fans is always special. We will approach Army with a focus on one match at a time and the team will reach high for its next goal.â€
Results:
125 | Logan Treaster (NAVY) dec over Ibrahim Bunduka, 6-3
133 | Cody Trybus (NAVY) fall over Trevor Mello, 4:10
141 | Jonathan Gabriel (NAVY) dec over Jose Tapia, 6-5
149 | Corey Wilding (NAVY) dec over Tejon Anthony, 9-7
157 | Zack Davis (NAVY) fall over Bryce Reddington, 1:32
165 | #20 Drew Daniels (NAVY) major dec over Garrett Griffith, 10-1
174 | AJ Alford (NAVY) fall over Levko Higgins, 4:19
184 | #18 Michael Coleman (NAVY) fall over Austin Harrison, 0:32
197 | Steban Cervantes (NAVY) dec over Eli Spencer, 9-7
285 | Andrew Piehl (NAVY) dec over Matthew Voss, 7-3
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